Immigration caps are contributing to lower asking rents in Canada, CMHC says
Immigration caps are contributing to lower asking rents in Canada, CMHC says
Limits on foreign students and new permanent residents influencing rental demand in some major cities, report finds
The article has a loooooong list of rent decreases in major metros across the country. Generally, we're seeing decreases that seem to erase the increase from the same period in 2024.
Over the past year, the average asking monthly rent fell between 2 per cent and 8 per cent in condos and rental-only apartments – also known as purpose-built rentals – said the report released Tuesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC).
The drop was due to a surge in new condos and apartment buildings hitting the market along with limits on temporary foreign residents such as students and new permanent residents.
...
“It is quite evident on the demand side that there have been signs of weakening,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, adding that there were stronger rental declines in regions with slower population growth.
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Oh look CHM pushing racism.
Immigration is a policy. Noting the effect of the policy is not racist.
The feds/provinces failed to factor population changes into policy, meaning we don't have enough housing, medical professionals, teachers, classrooms, etc.
The ideal scenario is that we build enough houses (possibly using the immigration system to invite more construction workers to become citizens of our country), train enough healthcare professionals (possibly by inviting existing professionals in, or training during foreign students who stay), and ensure workers that we invite into the country receive the same benefits Canadians do.
Liberals stopped building houses, as they had for decades. That is what happened. Billy fell off his by cycle. Sarah bought an ice cream cone. Planes flew overhead, and Liberals stopped building residential units.
Conservatives also built no housing, do they didn't "stop"- just kept serving the rich.
Immigration increases economic activity far beyond its costs.
So racists have to lie about its economic effect, because using racism is very exposing.
CMHC funded housing for decades. Conservative and Liberal governments funded it, and it worked in tandem with provinces that had governments of all stripes. That ended in the austerity of the 80s and 90s that was implemented by Conservative and Liberal federal governments.
Immigration increases economic activity far beyond its costs.
That isn't in question.
The original article and CMHC piece describe a reduction in demand for rentals as one of the reasons prices have fallen slightly, and suggest that a reduction in immigration is the cause, thanks to where the reductions have happened.
So racists have to lie about its economic effect, because using racism is very exposing.
This isn't a question of race. It's a question of government policy, and the effect it has on people.
Poor federal and provincial planning has triggered a polycrisis. By fixing the mistakes, hopefully we'll be able to welcome more people. In many cases, immigration can provide a fix by bringing in people we need. (There's a missing conversation about what that does to their home country and the quality of life Canada provides after they arrive, but let's save that for later)
But it's hard to have conversations about potential fixes when mentions of immigration are greeted with accusations of racism.